In the current market the 3PL provider has two choices, substantially increase revenue from value added services or struggle to survive in a storage focused world with diminishing inventory.

Arguably the recession is over, but this one is different. Unemployment is still high, inventoriesare still being held back and neither is looking at changing in the foreseeable future. Traditional 3PL truckload in, truckload out businesses are suffering and there seems little hope of a turnaround.

To prosper today,the industry must move towards a much higher proportion of revenue from value added services. In discussions with our own 3PL partners, we are seeing significant growth in those who are able to move their business into the fulfillment arena or offer 4PL type services to their customers. We are also seeing those locked into a storage/handling model suffering and losing business.